The Power of Self-Directed Youth Innovator Mentor Networks: Research-Based Mentor Network Designs to Prevent Youth Innovator Entropy Over a Lifetime

• In Event: 45.094 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Seven - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 45.094-3 - Innovations in Complexity Theory Applications

Abstract

Thirty years of Canadian national science fair youth winners were studied to define relational supports and attractors that might sustain their emergence as innovators over a lifetime. We found surprising innovation entropy after school graduation caused from a lack of personal and disciplinary relational networks in their ecosystems. Both innovation youth and mature youth-as adult mentors strongly prefer self-directed, tight and yet open, flexible mentor affinity networks with deep (but transient) disciplinary experts matters for their emergence as innovators. Their desire for entrepreneurial support from cradle to grave in adaptable support/feedback networks are presented as models for more robust, complex, online adaptive looping mentor networks to support thriving youth and mentor emergence (as innovators) over a lifetime.

Author

• Eugene Gary Kowch, University of Calgary